Militants kill 4 highway policemen in southeast Iran, state TV says

Previously, the province has witnessed multiple clashes between Iranian security forces and drug smugglers, as well as other extremist groups.

Image used for representation. (Photo | AFP)

TEHRAN: Militants shot and killed four highway policemen Sunday in southeast Iran, state media reported.

State TV said the officers were on a routine mission on a road linking Khash and Taftan towns some 1200 kilometres (745 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran, in restive Sistan and Baluchistan province, when they were "attacked by terrorists,” a reference to separatist groups.

The province has witnessed multiple clashes between Iranian security forces and drug smugglers as well as a Sunni separatist group affiliated with the extremist group al-Qaida, known as Jeish al-Adl, or Army of Justice.

Sistan and Baluchistan province is a well-known route for drug and human trafficking from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe and Arab nations in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.